page_title: Music of Sudan
section_title: The 1990s up to the 2000s – Restrictions through sharia law and the decline of popular music
hierarchical_section_title: Music of Sudan / The 1990s up to the 2000s – Restrictions through sharia law and the decline of popular music
caption_attribution_description: English: Omer Ihsas and the Peace Messengers Deutsch: Omer Ihsas and the Peace Messengers
context_page_description: The rich and varied music of Sudan is made up of traditional, rural East African roots, as well as of Arabic, Western or other African influences on the popular urban music from the early 20th century onwards. Since the establishment of big cities like Khartoum as melting pots for people of diverse backgrounds, their cultural heritage and tastes have shaped numerous forms of modern popular music. In the globalized world of today, the creation and consumption of music through satellite TV or on the Internet is a driving force for cultural change in Sudan, popular with local audiences as well as with Sudanese living abroad.
  Even after the secession of South Sudan in 2011, the Sudan of today is very diverse, with five hundred plus ethnic groups spread across the country's territory, which makes it the third largest country in Africa. The cultures of its ethnic and social groups have been marked by the complex cultural legacy, going back to the spread of Islam as well as by indigenous African cultural heritage. Though some of the ethnic groups still maintain their own African language, most Sudanese today speak the distinct Sudanese dialect of Arabic.
context_section_description: After the military coup in 1989, the imposition of sharia law by an Islamist government brought about the closing of music halls and outdoor concerts, as well as many other restrictions for musicians and their audiences. Many of the country's most prominent musicians or writers were barred from public life, and in some cases even imprisoned, while others, like Mohammed al Amin and Mohammed Wardi, took exile in Cairo or other places. Traditional music suffered too, with traditional Zār ceremonies being interrupted and drums confiscated. 
  The popular singer Abu Araki al-Bakheit was banned from performing political songs, but he eventually managed to continue performing in defiance of the authorities. The Southern Sudanese celebrated singer Yousif Fataki had all his tapes erased by Radio Omdurman. Other popular performers of the time include Abdel Karim al Kabli or Mahmoud Abdulaziz, both with a notably long and diverse history of performance and recordings, as well as Mohammed el Amin and Mohammed Wardi. Up to today, the vast majority of Sudanese singers express their lyrics in Sudanese Arabic, thereby touching the feelings of their national audience as well as the growing number of Sudanese living abroad, notably in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries.
  International musicians that became popular in Sudan included reggae superstar Bob Marley and American pop singer Michael Jackson, while the funk of James Brown inspired Sudanese performers like Kamal Kayla. The spread of international pop music through radio, TV, cassette tapes and digital recordings also prompted a growing number of Sudanese musicians to sing in English, connecting their music with the outside world. – Even though the government of the time discouraged music, dance and theatre, the College of Music and Drama of Sudan University in Khartoum, going back to 1969, continued to offer courses and degrees, thus giving young people a chance to study music or theatre.
caption: Popular singer Omer Ihsas & his Peace Messengers from Darfur
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